The elephant in the room that never goes away

Thai anti-government protesters take up the street during a march in Bangkok, Thailand Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014. Thailand's ruling party has questioned the reasoning behind a court decision allowing next month's general election to be postponed, but held open the possibility that it might agree to put off the polls if its political rivals agree to recognize the legitimacy of a new vote. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

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Have been waiting for an opportunity to blog an important pertinent issue in the current political conflict, Pravit in The Nationon the big issue that never goes away:

To make matters worse, many are not openly talking about the other “big issue”, which has attracted so much hatred against Yingluck and her older brother, ousted and fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. We have all heard about corruption at rally sites, and the Thai media widely reported it, but what about the sense of insecurity over the future of the monarchy among protesters, with His Majesty at 86 and frail?

Those visiting the protest sites cannot fail to notice a good number of protesters wearing T-shirts with royalist slogans like: “People of HM the King” or “[The person] whom I love the most is the King” and that many such T-shirts are widely available on sale at protest sites. On January 13, the first day of the “shutdown”, I heard a protest leader on stage at Victory Monument declaring out of the blue that they would ensure the King would remain the head of state. Why such insecurity and why so little public discussion about it?

Another big denial of reality is the belief that if Yingluck was to simply resign today, everything would be fine and reds would just happily obey the orders of the PDRC’s “People’s Council” that would, under Suthep’s plan, be appointed to run the country for a year and a half.

It’s time Thais stopped believing our society can break through the political impasse without confronting these issues.

BP: First, on the big issue, the elephant won’t go away – see here, here, here, here, and here – although it is clear the speakers on the stage are not raising the issue as much as the PAD did in 2006 and 2008.

Second, remove Yingluck from office in a coup, reds protest, military crackdowns and many are killed, and then of course, everything will be fine and rule by the unelected overlords will be welcomed.